Zero tolerance strikes again: A Maine high school suspended a 10th-grader for possessing a lookalike firearm after a bright yellow squirt gun fell out of his backpack.
Administrators at Lewiston High School determined that the rules mandated a 10-day suspension.
District Superintendent Bill Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and he told the Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal that he could not comment on the details of the case. (RELATED: Teen self-defense expert expelled, jailed, kicked out of Army program, all because of a pocketknife)
He did say that all facts were considered.
“I can say that a student bringing a water pistol to school will, at first, be told that they are being suspended from school for 10 days,” he said in a statement. “We then work to get more facts and complete a review that often results in a reduction of the suspension period. Also, it is not uncommon for other factors to enter into the suspension decision, including the level of student cooperation.” (RELATED: Felony weapons charge for student who brought fishing supplies to school)
Webster implied that the student should consider himself lucky, since many other districts would have expelled him without a second thought.
Indeed, anti-gun hysteria has led to the implementation of draconian bans of harmless toys, and even finger gestures, at U.S. schools. The Daily Caller has covered a number of such cases. (RELATED: School suspends 10-year-old for pointing finger like a gun)
So-called zero tolerance policies are following out of favor with the general public, however. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle wish to eliminate them. (RELATED: ‘Pop-Tart Gun Bill’ is healing the partisan divide)